Double Majors

You may pursue a double major after meeting the following criteria:

• You must already be declared in a major within L&S.

• No more than two upper-division courses can overlap between the two majors.

• Meet the appropriate deadlines. Refer to the Double Major declaration deadline to ensure that you submit your petition by the strict application deadline. The Double Major petition should be signed and dated by Major Advisers no more than four months prior to submitting the request.

• Completed petitions must include a program plan that demonstrates that you will be able to finish all degree requirements for both majors within nine semesters if you started as a First-Year student, or five semesters if you started as a Junior Transfer (counting enrollments in all institutions attended) or by the end of the semester in which you exceed 136 units (whichever comes second).
  • See our Degree Requirements page for details about L&S requirements. See the Unit Ceiling and Semester Limits page for more information.

1. After confirming you are eligible to declare a double major, download the Double Major petition at our Forms & Petitions webpage. Complete pages 2-5 on the petition. Please carefully read the instructions for each section. 

2. Send the petition to your NEW Major Adviser.

   1. NEW Major Adviser reviews, signs, AND initiates the eForm. 

3. After the new Major Adviser signs, send the petition to your CURRENT Major Adviser.

   1. CURRENT Major Adviser reviews, signs, AND approves the eForm.

4. Submit the completed & signed petition to lspetitions@berkeley.edu. L&S Advising provides the final eForm approval within 5-10 business days after receiving the completed PDF.

If you have questions or concerns about your proposed program plan and/or completing degree requirements within the unit ceiling, meet with an L&S College Adviser to review your petition.

Please note: In order for your Double Major petition to be reviewed and processed, you MUST complete all four steps. Otherwise, your Double Major petition will be denied.

Please indicate this request on the respective section (page 2) of the Double Major petition. Indicate your current EGT and your new requested EGT. Once you have completed the final step and submitted your petition to lspetitions@berkeley.edu, the L&S Advising office will process your Double Major petition and EGT change request at the same time (if all eligibility criteria and deadlines are met).

Please note that you will still need to submit your Double Major petition by the appropriate deadline (see "Deadline" section above).

Not necessarily

A double major does not necessarily give you a competitive advantage for career opportunities or admission to graduate school after college. Many students make the assumption that engaging in more coursework will make them more impressive to employers or graduate programs. While this can be true in certain cases, most often, employers and graduate programs are interested in candidates that have a combination of skills, experiences, and qualifications that match the role or program.

Focus on building skills

Many of the important transferable skills that employers and graduate programs value can be developed through participation in experiential learning opportunities such as leadership in student organizations, internships, public service, research, study abroad, volunteer work, and more. Committing yourself to a second major can be a valuable experience, but if it impedes your ability to engage in these types of skill-building experiences, you may want to examine whether taking on an additional major is actually helping you achieve your goals.

Do your research before committing

If you’re motivated to pursue a second major in order to gain a competitive advantage in the job market or for graduate school, it is important to do your research first to determine whether this will help you achieve your goals. Resources like the Career Counseling Library and advising at Berkeley Career Engagement can assist you with this.

Gain depth in two different areas of study

A double major allows you to explore two interests, especially interests in different areas. If you find yourself curious about two fields of study and two majors fit in with your academic plan without making sacrifices to hands-on learning experiences, a double major can be a great option. It can also be a way to explore an area you enjoy even when it is not aligned with any particular future goal.

A double major may support building transferable skills in multiple areas as well, but it is always valuable to consider whether a major, minor, or hands-on experience is the best way to gain the skill you’re interested in. A double major can also be valuable if you are interested in researching or innovating at the intersection of two fields.

Two majors in similar areas of study

Keep in mind that while students are often attracted to adding a second major that is similar to their primary major, it is often adding a major that is significantly different than your first major that may make doing so more worth your time. For example, an employer may view the foundational skills from Psychology and Sociology as fairly similar, while the range of skills developed through a Psychology and Classics double major may be viewed as more broad. That is not to say that pursuing two similar majors does not have value; many students find great personal fulfillment through their double majors, but as the differences are more subtle, the value may be more personal or be more useful in the research field, where such nuances are better understood.

Quality over quantity

While the number of majors you have has not been shown to impact your competitive advantage for jobs, graduate school, or professional school, there are still great reasons to consider a double major. If a double major ever becomes an obstacle to your success, your goals, or if you lose interest in one major, then do not hesitate to focus on a single major.

L&S allows you to overlap two upper division courses (courses numbered 100-199) between double majors.

By “overlap” we mean that up to two upper division courses can be used to satisfy requirements for both double majors.

If you are declared in more than two majors, upper division course overlaps cannot exceed more than two courses in total. See Upper Division Overlap Examples here.

L&S allows you to overlap one upper division course (courses numbered 100-199) between a major and a minor.

By “overlap” we mean that one upper division course can be used to satisfy requirements for both your major and your minor.

If you have multiple majors or multiple minors, you are still only allowed to overlap one course total between minors and majors. See Minor Overlap Examples here.

Yes. If you have declared a double major that you no longer wish to complete, meet with an L&S College Adviser to request this change to your academic plan. Dropping a double major may shift your semester limits and unit ceiling, so it is important to discuss how this may impact your timeline to finish your degree.  

You may redeclare a major that you previously dropped, provided that you meet the deadlines and receive department approval.